"Don't we have any refrigerator sangria?" Annabeth asks about the thirtieth time.

"No." Will's seriously starting to wish they had some though. He considers drinking one of the White Claws out of the mini-fridge, but that would be a little mean to dangle it right in front of his intoxicated best friend. And besides, everyone knows mango is the worst flavor. He only drinks that when he's already drunk.

He doesn't want to see the damage on Annabeth. Yeah, he's dealt with battle wounds. Hell, he's dealt with battle wounds on Annabeth before- but this isn't the same. At the hospital, Will isn't obligated to ask people how they got their wounds. Most of the time he can guess, but he's never suspected anything like this before.

But he's a doctor, sort of, and it's his responsibility to take care of his patient.

The words she whispered still ring in his ear: "He kicked me."

Will shudders. What if she doesn't remember in the morning, and he has to tell her what could have happened?

"He kicked me twice."

He's not going to be able to recount this without either getting irrationally angry or breaking down in tears.

"Mm..." Annabeth moans a tiny bit in her sleep. She's been in and out this whole night. It's scary.

Might as well get this over with while she can't see his reaction.

Slowly, he slides her shirt up.

"Oh my gods," Will whispers.

Her stomach is red, presumably from where she'd been kicked, and two bruises are beginning to form. That's going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow.

It's a miracle she has enhanced demigod healing, or else they'd be in an ambulance on the way to the nearest hospital right now.

Will tucks Annabeth's shirt back in its place and smooths his hand over her messy hair. It's a good thing he sent Nico away for this part.

"Who would do such a thing?" Will wonders aloud. A tear escapes from his eye. He knows Annabeth can fend for her own. Everybody knows that. But she's still half-human. She's still a woman.

And clearly, she's not immune to creepy guys.

Will can't take it anymore. He pulls Annabeth close against his chest. "I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I'm so, so sorry. I should've been there."

Annabeth hiccups. "Ow..."

"Shit, I'm sorry." Will lays her back down.

Annabeth reaches for her face. Her lip is so swollen, she probably won't even be able to drink the water Nico's getting.

"Yeah, I should probably get those out. Sorry. They looked cool while they lasted," Will says.

"Please..." Annabeth's voice is becoming weaker.

"I have to or they'll get worse. We can try to save them, and if not, we'll get them done by someone who actually knows what they're doing. I promise," he says.

He applies some champagne-scented Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer and then gets to work.

"Aaahhh," Annabeth says as he removes the first stud.

"Yeah, I know," says Will. "Oh, damn."

"Tastes weird."

"I bet." Oh, gross. There's pus. Lots of pus.

Will turns so Annabeth can't see him and gags into the crook of his elbow. Even for a guy who works in a hospital, it's disgusting. That much pus should not be so close to someone's mouth.

"I have to drain it," he says. "It's probably going to hurt."

"Nufin' hurt! I'm invinibuh!"

"Great." Will takes a tissue from the nightstand and gets to draining.

When he finally wipes the excess pus away, he throws out the tissue, and Annabeth tries to sit up.

"Woo!" she shouts, a little too loudly for... what time even is it?

"We still have the other one. Lay back down."

"Fuck!" Annabeth lays down.

Will yanks her shirt back over her midriff. "You need to change."

"I know. It's hard being like this, all single and drunk all the time..." she rambles. She's slurring. She never slurs.

Will reaches for the other piercing. It's not quite as bad as the first one. "I meant you need to change your clothes, but that works too. I've gotta say, I enjoy our talks when you're not sober."

Annabeth mutters something that sounds like an agreement.

"Okay, there's that," says Will. "Any better?"

"Cool beans..." she says. Her dull grey eyes are barely visible beneath her hooded lids.

Should he let her fall asleep? She's probably exhausted and could use the rest, but Will has no idea what's in her body right now. Maybe they shouldn't risk it.

He's not tired. He feels like he could run a whole marathon or something right now. Too bad his plans with Nico will have to be put on hold.

Will shouldn't ask her, but she doesn't always remember what she tells him when she's high. It's worth a shot.

"Do you think I should get back together with Nico?" he asks.

Annabeth chuckles and then winces. Her lip might not be able to take that much movement yet. "Probably. He did have a glow-up."

One more question: "What about Percy?"

Annabeth rubs her hands along her face. "I saw him."

"Yes, you did."

"No. I mean, in that place. He was-"

The door swings open. "You should really lock this thing," Nico says. He tosses a water bottle to Will.

"Thanks so much," Will says. "C'mon, sit up." He pulls Annabeth upright and helps her drink some of the water.

"Any better?" Nico asks.

"You just missed a lot of pus."

"Wow, I'm so jealous," Nico deadpans.

"I'm horny," Annabeth declares.

Nico's so cute when he cracks up. "Aren't we all?" he says between breaths.

"I mean, at least she's confident about it," Will says.

"Fair."

Will breaks the awkward pause. "How was the trip? I see you found your jacket."

"A little weird, to be honest. Frank and Leo are somewhere in the resort riding around on a bell cart."

Will drops Annabeth back onto the mattress. "Wait, I wanna see!"

"I want a turn to ride on that stupid cart," Nico says. His smile is so bright, Will misses it when it drops all of a sudden.

"I feel like there's something else I'm supposed to tell you," he says. "Like, something really important."

"Oh, well..." Will never knows what to do when people say things like this to him. "I guess you can let me know when you remember?"

"Okay," Annabeth says, giggling, for seemingly no apparent reason. "Guys, I'm like, really really horny."

"Tough luck. Sober up," says Will. He feels bad laughing at Annabeth, but it's important to have a bit of good humor in front of your patients. It makes them feel like they didn't just get drugged and kicked in the gut twice.

The door bursts open once again. "You should really lock this thing," Percy says, echoing Nico's words. He shoves Will off the bed to get closer to Annabeth.

"Oh, that's what I forgot," says Nico.

"Hey, who's the doctor here?" Will calls from the floor.

"Oh, yeah, I brought the water. Here, Annabeth, are you thirsty?" Percy uncaps another water bottle.

How smart of Nico, sending Percy to some far-off end of the hotel to get water. That way, he feels helpful, but he's away from Will while he's performing medical duties.

Unfortunately, nobody bothered to lock the door. Guess he can't really blame that on Annabeth.

Percy laces Annabeth's hand in his.

"Percy, I wouldn't get too close," Will starts. "She's a little loopy..."

"Oh my gods, Percy!" Annabeth slurs. "I saw a doggy tonight!"

Percy looks down at Will and cocks an eyebrow.

Will shrugs as if to say, You did this to yourself.

"Uh," Percy starts. "Was it... cute?"

"No! It was mean. Mean, I tell ya!" Annabeth tries to prop herself up on her elbows but falls back into the blankets.

"You guys weren't going to leave her alone, were you?" Percy asks.

"Gods, no!" Nico shouts.

"Not with the alcohol in the mini-fridge," Will mumbles, still on the floor. Yeah, they're going to get charged for this carpet.

Percy looks at Annabeth and then back down towards Will. "I can stay with her if you want," he says.

"Oh, that's alright," Will says. "I mean, I'm the doctor and all-"

"Wouldn't it be a good idea for you to get some rest, Will?" Nico asks suggestively. "Maybe Percy can take a turn to watch her while you take a break. That is if you're finished with her, medically."

"I don't know..." Will wants to ask Nico why he's suddenly siding with Percy, but then he remembers the plan. If there was ever an opportunity to get Percy and Annabeth to spend time together, it's now. "You know what? I'll take you up on that. I'm going to help Annabeth change, and then I want to see you in the lobby on a bell cart. We're going for a ride."

Nico wiggles his eyebrows. "Sounds fun."

Will doesn't feel guilty like he initially thought. Actually, he feels like this is something that could earn Annabeth's seal of approval.